


Awakening

by mezzosesu



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Gen, Introspection, M/M, Post-Canon, You can read as either romantic or platonic relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-10
Packaged: 2020-12-07 14:02:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20977100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mezzosesu/pseuds/mezzosesu
Summary: Lio wakes up to silence.This is more common than you'd think.





	Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> Come get your "Lio copes after Promare are gone" cake. You've probably a few slices of it already but I know you can't resist more!

Lio wakes up to silence. 

He should have gotten used to this by now, it's been weeks. Weeks since the fight, weeks since experiencing the Deus X, fighting Kray, and the Promare leaving their universe. Some things just take a little longer to heal, he guesses. 

He doesn't have to look at the clock to know that it's late, way later than he wants to be awake. Galo tends to rise early, and he’s not quiet in the morning, just about stomping around to get ready at the crack of dawn. Lio should get to sleep and snatch those few precious hours of rest, but it's too quiet to properly settle down and relax. He's used to the whispers of the Promare in his ears every second of the day, crackling greetings, smoldering farewells, and interspersed with it all, a calling to burn, burn, _ burn. _

It wasn't all that bad being a Burnish though. With all the fire around he never truly got lonely, and there was the added benefit of dampening more noticeable sounds, like cars in the street or snoring. 

Both of those noises plagued him now between the long stretches of silence, and he wishes he had those whispers to lean on. 

He tries staring at the ceiling in hope that it'll bore him into slumber, or at least distract him from Galo's snoring. His eyes trace the edges of the shadows where the lights bleed in from the street, and when that doesn't work he focuses on the small spots in the ceiling, but it garners the same result. Galo's still loud and he's still miserably awake. 

Rising out of bed, Lio clutches the comforter to him like a lifeline, wrapping the warm material snugly around his shoulders, then he slips a pair of slippers on, the origins of which were still a mystery. He never brought slippers when he moved in with Galo, and as far as he knew Galo didn’t own a pair himself beforehand. Be that as it may, Lio never was one to look gift slippers in the mouth, especially when the hardwood was so cold under his feet. 

Another aftereffect of losing the Promare: the lack of ability to stay warm under normal circumstances. 

He hazards a look at Galo, the tips of his lips quirking up from the sight. He was spread out, practically a spitting image of a starfish as he takes over not only his space but also the spot that Lio had just occupied. He was shirtless, a real testament to his burning spirit that affected more than just his passion. With a human space furnace like this, it was no wonder why Lio kept ending up in Galo's bed despite having full rein over the couch. 

He passes the folding panel that separates Galo's bed from the rest of the studio apartment and extends it back to its normal nightly position. Then, he grabs the phone he’s been borrowing off the table and heads to the patio, where he quietly slips outside and takes a seat on the chair. 

The outside air is brisk. It nips at Lio’s face, the small parts of his neck where his hair didn’t cover, and spaces below where Galo's comforter didn’t reach. Lio adjusts to compensate, pulling his knees up to his chest under the fabric and precariously balancing his slippers on the front of the seat. Thankfully he had a smaller build or it would be impossible: if he were large like Galo, he'd barely even fit in the chair. 

He takes a moment to visualize it and holds back a chuckle at how absurd it is.

From his perch on Galo’s balcony, he’s able to see pieces of the city around him. The firehouse is a few blocks away in full view, the brights headlights from the garage bleeding out from the building to light up the street in splotchy patterns in the asphalt. From what he could tell the station was still; all the occupants must be sleeping. Galo would be there tomorrow night for his shift, and Lio would be here in his apartment. It’s not like this particular arrangement was new or anything, but it was still an adjustment, to be by himself, to be in a safe place for an extended period without gathering up his backpack of essentials and little else to move to a new space.

To his credit, Galo had no problems keeping Lio occupied during the day. He drags Lio to the station with him to help keep his promise to rebuild the city, forces Lio to interact with his coworkers, and just takes Lio out for rides on his motorcycle, which often turn into Lio commandeering the vehicle to drive himself. It was fun, and Lio did appreciate Galo’s attempts, but he just doesn’t quite understand the loneliness Lio feels. He doesn’t get the feeling of fire coursing through your veins, the euphoria of giving your body up to the flames and letting yourself be used for their whims. The chanting of fire late at night, the haunting tones and gentle hymns whose melody you can place yet not, a familiar language yet you can’t understand a bit of it. A song meant to invoke _ something _, yet you haven’t the foggiest idea of what it could be insistently wishing for night after night like clockwork. 

A yearning that pushed him on for years, and then it was gone, just like that.

Lio sighs, pulling out the phone and dialing a number he’s memorized for situations like this. It rings a few times, then, despite the late hour, it connects. 

_ “Hey Boss,” _ Guiera’s voice comes through the speaker, gruff but unmistakably awake, and Lio feels his shoulders slump with relief. _ “You too, huh?” _

Lio spends the next hour or so catching up with Guiera and Meis, who came to the phone shortly after Guiera answered. They talk about everything and nothing, about their efforts to help Ex-Burnish integrate back into society, about their successes and roadblocks in trying to live normally. Thanks to Lio's influence he was able to get the two of them a decent place, and he wasn't even surprised when they decided to live together. If it weren't for Galo, he'd probably be right there with them. The three of them had been through thick and thin for years that it was a little bittersweet to be separated, but somehow they all still synced up on certain things, including insomnia. 

As they talk, exhaustion finally creeps up on Lio. He slumps further in his chair, curling up more under the thick comforter to keep warm. Over the phone, he can hear Guiera and Meis start to stifle their yawns, and he suggests that maybe they should get to sleep. They agree, but not before setting up some time to get together later in the week. 

After hanging up, Lio tells himself that he'll go inside in a minute. He insists that he's only closing his eyes for a second, but the next thing he knows light is bleeding in from beyond the dark his eyelids and he's being lifted from the chair. The person is warm, and he realizes that he's freezing. He snuggles closer and hears what's probably a lecture on sleeping outside. He grumbles in response. 

He's carried to a warmer place (inside, most likely), and he opens an eye to look at his savior. As he expects, Galo is there, still shirtless somehow, and a bright smile that could go toe-to-toe with the sun. 

Still, that type of enthusiasm was ill-suited for the early hour. 

Galo stops in the middle of the room. "Couch or bed?" 

Lio doesn't even have to think about it. "Bed."

"Bed, it is." Galo walks over and carefully sets Lio down. He tucks Lio in, pulling the sheets over his cocooned form rather than wrestle him out of it. "I'm going in for my shift soon, do you want me to set your alarm so you won't oversleep?" 

Lio shrugs his shoulders, his eyes already closed and halfway back to sleep through the combined efforts of warmth and fluffy pillows. He hears Galo shuffle around, then the soft thud of what he suspects is his phone being put on the table. 

He falls asleep not too long afterward, and he dreams of warmth and distant chanting. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I really appreciate it :) 
> 
> If you'd like to follow me on other social media, you can find me on [ tumblr ](https://mezzosesu.tumblr.com/) and [ Pillowfort ](https://www.pillowfort.social/MezzoSesu)!


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